Nightcrawler Spirit
by morph
Summary: I am a spirit sent to guide the Chosen Ones of the Movieverses. My first assigment: Nightcrawler in X2.
1. The Church

AN/ Hello, everybody! I really hope you all like this idea I have for a series of fics. A Spirit who's names are Morph, Injara, Reepa, Nikita, Calypso, Bastet and Karen. I guess you could call her a magical being of sorts. Her job is to guide the Chosen Ones of the movieverses. These are selected characters from some favorite movies, and she acts as a sort of guardian angel for them. She guides them through the events of their movie, andshe leaves them when the movie is over. Only the selected character can see, hear and feel her. They must trust and believe her and never tell anyone about her, or else she'll have to leave them early and the movie as we know it will be ruined!

TheSpirit's first assignment is Kurt Wagner, also known as the Incredible Nightcrawler, in the movie X-Men 2. I have many more characters I want to do from many different movies. Most of the stuff in this fic will be from the movie, but a small bit of it will be from the novelisation by Chris Claremont. I do not own Nightcrawler or X-Men 2 in any way whatsoever, except for a copy of the D.V.D. and the novel. The spirit is mine, though, and all of her names are some (yes, just some,) of my alter egos.

Also, I'm not even going to even try to type all of Nightcrawler's dialogue in a German accent. You're just going to have to remember to read it with a German accent, if you can.

This is NOT intended to become a Mary-Sue! Nightcrawler and the Spirit become good friends, THAT'S ALL. If this does come across to you as a Mary- Sue, then I'm sorry, because it's not meant to be.

Ok, now just go with the flow and have fun. Don't forget to review!

* * *

I knew where I was. I was in a place that I would later come to fondly call 'Nightcrawler's Church.' The place was big and dusty, with pigeons roosting everywhere and giant, beautiful stained-glass windows. There was a lot of scaffolding up and most of the pews were covered in cloth. Ugly graffiti covered the walls. (I had to admit I did like the one remark on the fence outside that read "Nature laughs last" but I had no time to dwell on spray- painted messages on holy ground right now.) There was only one, small offering candle lit - a sign that I was not alone. I also knew when it was. Kurt 'Nightcrawler' Wagner had just gotten back from his little romp in the White House. I needed to find him. I knew where his room was, upstairs. 

I found him sitting in a corner of his room, looking hurt and scared. His left hand was fingering his rosary beads and he was praying in German. He clutched his left shoulder tightly with his right hand. I had the suspicion that it was still bleeding. I silently approached him, passing some of his many circus posters featuring mainly himself as the star acrobat. He didn't hear me approach, and so didn't know I was there.

"Kurt?" I said quietly.

He looked up suddenly in surprise. Before I could do or say anything else, he teleported away with a "BAMF" and a cloud of dark blue smoke that smelled like brimstone. I sighed, grateful that the smell didn't bother me much and went off to go find him. I was not going to give up that easily!

I wondered downstairs. I figured Kurt was up in the rafters somewhere. He wouldn't leave his church, not while he was wounded. "Kurt?" I called out. "Kurt? Or would you like me to call you Nightcrawler?" I scanned the rafters with my eyes, but I knew he would blend right in with the shadows. "I know you can hear me. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you or arrest you or anything. I want to help you, Kurt." I paused. I could feel that he was listening to me, wherever he was.

"Look, Kurt, I'm not afraid of you. I don't care how you look. I actually think you're really cool! I would love to have a prehensile tail and yellow eyes! And blue is my favorite colour! And elf ears rock! So do fangs!" No response. I sighed, and decided to try a different approach.

"I know you didn't mean to do it, Kurt. I know you weren't acting of your own free will in Washington." I paused again. I could almost hear him thinking about it. "I know you're hurt, and you need medical attention. I can help you, Kurt. You can trust me, I'm not going to hurt you," I reassured him. I waited for a few seconds, and I heard him "BAMF" down onto the ground in the shadows in front of me. All I could see of him were his yellow eyes, so full of pain.

"Hi," I said with a smile, trying to coax him out of the shadows. "Don't worry, you can come out. I'm not afraid and I wont hurt you."

"Who are you? How did you know my name?" Nightcrawler asked in his heavy, but kind German accent. He stayed in the shadows.

"I go by many names, but you can call me Karen," I replied. "I know a lot about you, and your powers."

"How did you find me?" Nightcrawler asked. "Are you a mutant?" he whispered.

"No, I'm not a mutant," I said. "I'm a spirit."

Now his eyes held confusion. "What?" he asked.

"Think of me as your temporary guardian angel for the next few days," I explained. "Come out of the shadows, please." I offered my hand out to him. He hesitated, but took it and slowly stepped out from the shadows. "That's better. Now, how about you teleport us back upstairs so that we can talk and I'll see what I can do about your shoulder." Kurt nodded and teleported while still holding my hand and so I went with him. We landed back in his room.

"Here, sit down and let me see your wound," I said gently to him. He did so, and I could see that he was still bleeding. I grabbed a clean cloth and applied pressure to the wound, making him wince in pain. "I'm sorry, but I have to stop the bleeding," I said.

"It didn't take very much energy to teleport you. It was almost as if you weren't there." Kurt said in a curious tone. "Are you really a spirit, Karen?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Yes," I said. "I'm here to guide you for the next few days. I know what's going to happen to you in the near future, and some of what has happened in your past," I explained to him, still pressing on his shoulder and admiring his tattoos now that I could see them clearly. Kurt was silent, thinking all this over.

"Do you believe me, Kurt?" I asked him. "I won't be able to help you if you don't believe or trust me."

Kurt turned his head and looked at me square in the eyes. I couldn't turn away from his golden yellow eyes, and I didn't want to. I really wanted to help him through this. I could tell that he was really thinking it over. "I believe you," he whispered sincerely.

I smiled. "Great," I said. I checked his shoulder. It had stopped bleeding. "Okay, I've stopped the bleeding," I said. "Now, there are a few rules which you must obey," I tolled him. "Remember only you can see or hear me. In fact, you're the only one who can feel me, too. Anyone else could walk right through me and not feel it. I'm not going to tell you everything that's going to happen to you, but I might give you the odd hint every now and then. Also, you must not tell anyone about me, or else I'll have to leave you before I'm meant to."

"When are you going to go?" he asked.

"In a few days," I replied. "But don't you worry about that now. I'm going to stick with you, and I'll let you know when I'm going to go." I paused and bit my lip. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you when you were captured and forced to attack the President," I said quietly.

Kurt looked down, his eyes filled with sadness again. "It was all like a bad dream," he murmured. "A horrible nightmare. I couldn't stop myself."

"Don't worry, Kurt," I comforted him. "Nothing like that will ever happen to you again. Your life is going to improve greatly after these next few days. Trust me." Kurt nodded and put his coat back on. He flicked his tail. I couldn't help but smile. Then I remembered that Storm and Jean were going to arrive any minute now. I had to get the story rolling.

"Kurt, what do you usually do when an invader enters your church?" I asked innocently.

He smiled a little. "Well, this church has a reputation for being haunted by its very own demon," he shrugged. "I just hide in the rafters, using my power to send my voice from every direction. I just teleport around, and shout at them in German, and I scare them away."

I nodded. "Right," I said. "Now in a very short while, some people are going to arrive here. I want you to try that trick on them, okay?"

"All right," Nightcrawler said. I saw in his eyes that he trusted me.


	2. Gehen Sie Raus!

Sure enough, a few moments later we heard the sound of the big wooden doors downstairs bursting open. Kurt jumped slightly at the loud noise that sent the pigeons roosting downstairs into startled flight.

"That's them, Kurt," I explained quickly. "Go on down there now and do your thing." Kurt nodded and Bamfed away. I moved to the doorway of Kurt's room to listen.

"These are the coordinates," I heard Jean Grey say to Storm. I frowned slightly at her voice. Hearing it only reminded me of her near future. There was a pause as Strom noticed Kurt's offering candle. Then I heard Kurt begin to teleport and shout at them in German.

"Gehen Sie raus! Ich bin der Bote des Teufels. Ich bin die Ausgeburt des Bosen."

Even I had to admit that Kurt sounded quite threatening, as compared to his normal, gentle tone. The whooshing sound of his teleporting was also a nice, mysterious touch.

"He's a teleporter," Jean observed.

"Well, no duh!" I thought as Kurt continued to Bamf around the church.

"Must be why Xavier had trouble locking onto him," Jean concluded aloud. I nodded knowingly. She was right.

"We're not here to hurt you," Storm called out. "We just wanna talk." By now, I knew that Kurt was perched on the beam above them. Kurt tried once more to frighten the ladies away.

"Gehen Sie raus! Ich bin der Bote des Teufels," he shouted down at them again. I could hear the pigeons cooing and fluttering around in the background. I knew that Storm and Jean were anything but scared at Nightcrawler's attempts to shoo them away.

"Are you bored yet?" Jean asked her friend.

"Oh, yeah," Strom responded, her eyes on the rafters where Nightcrawler was hiding. "Sure you don't wanna come down?" she asked the indigo shadow above her. Kurt stayed put.

I heard the winds suddenly pick up and thunder crash. I grinned. Kurt would soon know why Ororo had received 'Storm' as her nickname! More thunder rumbled and there was a great flash of lightening inside the church. Kurt screamed in shock and fear as the lightening struck his beam and he fell. His screams were cut short as Jean caught him upside-down in midair with her telekinetic powers.

"You got him?" Storm inquired as Kurt was slowly lowered a bit and was turned to face them.

"He's not going anywhere," Jean responded. "Are you?" she asked her captive.

"Kurt! They're here about what happened in Washington!" I shouted down to him quickly. The back of his coat flopped down behind his head.

"Please don't kill me," he pleaded, as he realized that they easily could do just that. I knew they wouldn't, of course. "I didn't mean to harm anyone."

"Now, why would people have gotten that impression?" Strom said. She changed her tone ever so slightly and asked, "What's your name?"

"Wagner. Kurt Wagner." Kurt responded. I smiled.

"And with that, the ice is broken," I thought to myself. I moved back into Kurt's room to wait for them to come upstairs and continue the story.


	3. Wounds

A/N: Thank you to everyone who helped me with the German translations in the last chapter.

* * *

Kurt led the two X-Women upstairs and into his room. As they passed his circus posters and the giant crucifix leaning against the wall, Jean explained to Kurt that she was a doctor and asked if she could examine his wound. Kurt hesitated.

"It's okay. You can trust them," I tolled him. Finally he complied, hopping up onto his makeshift bed and removing his shirt and coat. He lay there bare-chested, exposing the tattoos on his chest and belly.

"Can you tell us what you remember about the attack?" Storm asked him as Jean began to treat his gunshot wound.

"There was so much shooting, such fear, and then there was only pain," Kurt said with some sadness in his voice. "I could see it all happening, but I could not stop myself. It was like a bad dream." He paused and thought a second. In that time I moved to stand beside Jean. I noticed the phoenix pattern on the back of her jacket, a precursor of things to come. Jean placed a bandage on Kurt's shoulder.

"Perhaps He is tasting me," Kurt said, gesturing to the giant crucifix. He sounded as if his soul was wounded. Jean and Storm turned their heads to look at the statue and I sighed.

"It's okay," I whispered to Kurt, reassuring him. The women focused their attention back on Kurt.

"And before you were in the White House, what do you remember?" Storm asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I was here."

"Jean?" Storm asked her friend. Her tone said, "What do you think we should do now?"

Jean hesitated a moment before answering. "I'd rather get him back to the Professor."

"The Professor?" Kurt asked. He sounded a bit worried.

"Don't worry, Kurt," I said. "He's a good guy." Strom began to run her fingers over Kurt's tattoos. She seemed awed and enchanted by them.

"Did you do these...yourself?" she asked.

"Yes," Kurt responded. I smiled a bit but then remembered Kurt's other scar, the one Stryker gave him. Storm and Jean had to know about that.

"Kurt, roll over," I ordered him. He did so. Slowly and carefully he turned onto his right side. Doing this exposed the small, circular scar on the back of his neck. Jean and Storm looked at it in concern.

"And what about this?" Jean asked as she touched the skin near the base of the circle. Kurt's fingers reached around and found the scar on his neck. Jean and Storm looked at each other with more concern. Kurt's eyes showed question and worry.

"That was not there before the attack," he said, sounding as worried as he looked. He rolled back over and looked at the two women.

"Well, come with us and we'll see if we can't get all this sorted out," Jean said, trying to mask the worry that was in her voice too. I could do nothing to help the situation much except place a comforting hand on Nightcrawler's uninjured shoulder. I seemed like a small gesture, but I think it helped and reassure Nightcrawler on some level. He sat up and put his shirt and coat back on.

"Danke," he said to Storm and Jean. In a way, I think he also meant it towards me. As the women turned to go, Kurt stopped them. "Wait, how did you get here? Where are we going?" he asked.

"We flew here," Storm replied. "In the X-Jet. We're going back to Westchester, New York, where Jean and I work as teachers."

"Ah," Kurt said, satisfied with her answers for the time being.

"Come on," Jean beckoned. She led the way downstairs and out of Nightcrawler's Church.


	4. Anger and Faith

I had to admit, it was very exciting being on the X-Jet. I think that Kurt was excited too. As Storm and Jean readied the jet for take-off, Kurt and I sat in the back passenger part of the jet. I couldn't help but look over to where Magneto and Mystique would eventually sit giggling to each other, but I didn't want to think about that right now. "Have you ever been in a jet like this before?" I asked Kurt.  
  
"Nein," Nightcrawler whispered looking at the interior of the jet around him. It was very professionally built, and I wasn't surprised considering that the Professor would settle for nothing but the best for his team. I shot a nervous glance over to Storm and Jean, who had their backs to us and were concentrating on the take-off.  
  
"I'm afraid we won't be able to talk much here," I said to Kurt. "If they hear you seemingly talking to no-one, they might think you're crazy." He gave a small smile.  
  
"That's all right," he said. "I'm very good at keeping myself preoccupied." He lowered his eyes and was quiet for a long while. At first, I thought that he had fallen asleep, but then I realized that he was praying silently under his breath. He paused for a second, took out his rosary beads, and continued praying in Latin, French, English and German. It was a beautiful thing to listen to.  
  
I suppose I drifted off into a kind of trance while I was listening to Kurt pray because I was slightly startled when Storm approached us. I got up and moved to stand in the isle as Storm sat down beside Kurt. He had been praying in German, but he stopped when Storm sat down. He seemed a bit startled too.  
  
"So, what are they?" Storm asked, referring to his tattoos.  
  
"They're angelic symbols," Kurt responded, half his face in shadow. "Passed on to mankind by the archangel Gabriel."  
  
"They're beautiful," Storm said. There was a lot of truth behind that one simple statement. "How many do you have?"  
  
"One for every sin," Kurt said. "So quite a few." He smiled a bit at his own little joke. Storm and I flashed a smile each as well.  
  
Kurt paused and looked back towards the cockpit. "You and Miss Grey are schoolteachers?" he asked Strom.  
  
She nodded. "Yes. At a school for people like us, where we can be safe."  
  
I frowned. Unlike them, I knew that the school had been attacked. It was safe, yes, but not as safe as it could be against people like William Stryker.  
  
"Safe from what?" Kurt inquired.  
  
"Everyone else," Storm responded simply. Nightcrawler thought about this for a second.  
  
"D'you know, outside of the circus most people were afraid of me," he said. "But I didn't hate them. I pitied them. Do you know why?"  
  
Storm shook her head.  
  
"Because most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes," Kurt explained.  
  
I smiled. "You can't judge a book be its cover," I thought. "Or a man by his appearance, no matter how demon-like he looks."  
  
"Well, I gave up on pity a long time ago," Storm said. There was very little regret about this decision in her voice, or in her eyes.  
  
Kurt looked at her gently and placed a three-fingered hand on her cheek. "Someone so beautiful should not be so angry," he said, giving her a compliment and advice both at the same time.  
  
"Sometimes anger can help you survive," Storm said, her eyes locked on Kurt's. I nodded.  
  
"True. She has a point," I said.  
  
Kurt returned Strom's gaze. "So can faith," he said, leaving no argument.  
  
I smiled. "That's true too," I agreed.  
  
"Storm, I found an active com device," Jean called from the cockpit, breaking up the moment.  
  
Storm's eyes only flickered briefly in her direction. "Where?" she asked. 


	5. Meeting More Mutants

The "where' ended up being back in Boston. I snuck up to the cockpit to eavesdrop on Jean, Storm and Wolverine.  
  
"No one's left, Jean. Soldiers came," Logan's voice said over the intercom.  
  
"What about that children?" Storm asked, concerned.  
  
"I saw them escape. Not sure about the rest," was Logan's reply.  
  
I closed my eyes and 'saw' the attack on the mansion. I frowned and shook my head. "No one should have to go through that," I muttered to myself. "It's like World War Two, only with humans and mutants instead of Nazis and Jews."  
  
Storm and Jean looked at each other. "We haven't been able to reach the professor or Scott either," Jean said.  
  
"Where are you, Logan?" Storm asked.  
  
"Boston, with Bobby Drake's family," he replied.  
  
"Okay. We're on our way," Storm said. The two women started to steer the jet back towards Boston when Logan's voice stopped them briefly.  
  
"And, Storm," he said. "Make it fast." from his tone of voice I knew what was happening. Things weren't going very well with Bobby's family discovering that their oldest son was a mutant.  
  
"Kurt, buckle up," Storm called over her shoulder. "We're going back to Boston to pick some others up."  
  
"Okay," Nightcrawler responded. He moved to sit in one of the seats behind the cockpit. I sat in the seat right behind him but I didn't buckle myself in. I didn't really need to and besides; it would look weird to see the restraints doing themselves up all by themselves.  
  
The jet did a mid-air u-turn and zoomed back to Boston. It was a very short trip. Storm and Jean landed the jet perfectly on the Drake's front yard. I frowned. I knew what that yard looked like without having to see it. Charred police cars and smoldering bits of lawn all thanks to Pyro. Not to mention the soot-covered, stunned and frightened police officers.  
  
The bottom hatch opened and John stepped inside. He stopped and stared at Nightcrawler. Rogue and Logan also came onboard. Rogue stared too, but Logan just glanced at him as he moved to his seat.  
  
"Guten Tag," Kurt said, trying to be friendly. Last to come on was Bobby. The four took their seats, all studying Kurt's unusual appearance.  
  
"Who the hell is this?" Logan asked.  
  
"Kurt Wagner," Kurt said, introducing himself. "But in the Munich Circus I was known as 'The Incredible Nightcrawler.'"  
  
"Ah, save it. Storm," Logan interrupted, turning away from Kurt and focusing his attention on the cockpit.  
  
"We're outta here," Storm replied as the jet's engines powered up. I could tell that Kurt was a bit hurt by Logan brushing him off. I smiled and leaned forward in my seat.  
  
"Don't worry about it," I tolled Kurt. "Logan's not the easiest guy to warm up to right away, especially when he has a headache like the one I'm sure he has right now."  
  
"Because just barely five minutes ago, he was shot in the head by a pissed- off trigger-happy policeman," I added mentally, but Kurt didn't need to know about that just yet.  
  
I sat back and glanced over at Bobby sitting across from me. He looked sad as the jet shuttered and took off. I couldn't blame him. After what he had just been through with his parents and younger brother, anybody would feel sad.  
  
As we flew away from the scene below, Storm and Jean gave brief introductions to Nightcrawler of everyone now onboard. Names and brief explanations of powers were exchanged between Kurt and the teens and Logan.  
  
After a while, Logan got up and moved the to cockpit. He stood behind Jean and leaned on the back of her chair. "How far are we?" he asked.  
  
"We're actually coming up on the mansion now," Jean responded. Just then, the jet's radar started beeping.  
  
"I've got two signals approaching," Storm reported. "Coming in fast."  
  
"Unidentified aircraft, you are ordered to descend to twenty thousand feet," a stern, female voice commanded over the intercom. "Return with our escort to Hanscom Air Force Base. You have ten seconds to comply."  
  
"Wow. Somebody's angry," Storm remarked.  
  
"I wonder why," Logan said over his shoulder towards John. I glared at the pyromaniac sitting a few seats in front of me.  
  
"We are coming up alongside you to escort you to Hanscom Air Force Base. Lower your altitude now," the female air force pilot commanded us again. She left no argument.  
  
The three X-Men in the cockpit looked out the windows at the two air force pilots flying alongside us. "Repeat: Lower your altitude to twenty thousand feet. This is your last warning," the intercom demanded. Storm and Jean made no move to as they were tolled. I heard the smaller jets fly away.  
  
"They're falling back," Storm said. I did a mental "uh oh!"  
  
For a second, there was silence. Then the radar began beeping franticly. "They're marking us," Storm said, half in wonder that they would actually do so.  
  
"What?" Logan asked. He did not like what he was hearing, I could tell.  
  
"They're gonna fire. Hang on!" Storm shouted. Logan scrambled back to his seat as Jean put the X-Jet into super-speed. 


	6. Humans vs Mutants at 50,000 ft

AN/ Regarding the title of this chapter: I originally got the idea for it from my friend Troy. (His penname is don't-argue-with-the-warew) I'm not sure it 50,000 feet is the correct height that all this took place at, but I just thought it sounded cool. (  
  
Logan stumbled into his seat and franticly buckled himself in. I griped the back of Nightcrawler's seat as tightly as I could. Kurt crossed himself, fearing for his life and the lives of everyone else on board. I looked over and saw Rogue struggling with the straps and buckles on her seat. I winced, knowing that she wouldn't get them done up in time. Loud alarms were going off all the while. It was almost as if the X-Jet itself was in protest at being a target for the air force.  
  
"I gotta shake 'em," Storm shouted. The jet did a barrel roll, neatly maneuvering out of the line of fire. Everyone's stomachs did upsetting flips and there were a few queasy faces among the mutants.  
  
"Please don't do that again," John requested. He sounded terrified.  
  
"I agree," Logan said. I gave a silent sigh.  
  
"That's the only time those two are ever going to agree," I thought.  
  
In the distance, I heard the two smaller jets do a super fast maneuver and begin to zero in on us again. Jean almost looked ready to do another roll in a repeat attempt to throw off the air force pilots, but she seemed to remember how nauseous the passengers would feel if she did that again. Besides, the air force could mach us move for move. Another plan of action was needed.  
  
Logan was getting frustrated. "Don't we have any weapons in this heap?" he shouted over the din of the alarms and jet engines.  
  
I managed a faint smile. "Yes, we sure do!" I said.  
  
Strom's eyes clouded over in reply to Logan's question and she cocked her head slightly. Rich, smoky black clouds quickly materialized in the sky. Storm rapidly made them produce dozens of long, powerful tornados. Jean easily maneuvered the jet safely around them. One of the air force pilots made an emergency evacuation of his jet. In my mind's eye, I saw him parachute safely to the ground.  
  
The X-Jet continued to rock and roll as we dodged Storm's twisters. Rogue still hadn't managed to buckle herself in properly. She clutched her restraints tightly, although I could tell that wouldn't be enough to keep her in.  
  
I sensed that the second air force pilot had also safely evacuated from her jet, but not before she launched two missiles at us. I knew that it would take an awesome amount of power to stop those missiles from hitting their target. Unfortunately, that was a type of power that I did not have.  
  
Storm's eyes cleared as the radar showed that now both of the smaller jets had gone. The dark clouds and tornados vanished. "Everybody okay back there?" Jean asked.  
  
"No," Logan replied flatly. An involuntary smirk crossed my lips, but my heart remained tense and alert.  
  
The jet's radar resumed its frantic beeping. Jean and Strom looked at it in alarm. Nightcrawler too looked up worryingly at the cockpit controls. The radar showed the missiles streaking right for us.  
  
"Oh my God. There's two of 'em," Storm reported. She sounded really scared because she knew that they would be impossible to shake off.  
  
Jean began to concentrate extremely hard on one of the missiles, trying to throw it off track.  
  
"Come, on, Jean," I prayed silently. I felt a huge surge of power burst from within her and radiate towards the missile. It fizzled, spluttered, spun out of control and safely exploded well clear of the X-Jet. Logan looked at Jean in amazement and I couldn't help but give a small internal cheer at this accomplishment, although I knew that it wouldn't be quite enough to save us.  
  
"There's one more," Storm reminded us, and I knew that it was closing in fast. "Jean?" Storm looked to her friend, counting on her to repeat her life-saving tactic on the second missile.  
  
Jean gave a frightened gasp as she realized that she couldn't stop it in time. "Oh, God!" she breathed, and I knew that was it.  
  
The missile exploded and tore a large hole in the roof of the jet. I flinched as the explosion rattled through my body. Rogue screamed, as she was vacuumed out of the jet by the roaring winds. Bobby tried to grab her as she blew past him, but failed.  
  
"Rogue!" he shouted desperately.  
  
"No!" Logan added with similar desperation.  
  
"Kurt!" I screamed. "You're the only one who can save her!" With a flash of dark blue smoke that was quickly blown away, Nightcrawler bamfed out of sight. He returned a second later with Rogue clutched tightly in his arms. He grasped at the bases of the seats with his tail and feet. Miraculously, he managed to keep a secure hold.  
  
The X-Jet began a dangerous nosedive towards a forest that was still a few thousand feet below us. Nothing Storm or Jean could do would save us, although Heaven know they wished that they could. Jean and Logan exchanged agonized 'farewell' looks. I don't think anyone believed that they would survive the crash.  
  
"Come on, Magneto!" I muttered to myself. "Where are you?"  
  
Suddenly the lights in the X-Jet began to flicker. The gaping, open wound in the jet seemed to heal itself and its deadly decent seemed to slow a little. I knew who was causing all of this to happen, of course, and I gave a huge sigh of relief. It felt almost like I had been holding my breath forever. The others didn't realize that everything was going to be ok, though.  
  
"Jean?" a frightened Storm inquired in such a way to ask if she was the one who was controlling the jet.  
  
"It's not me," Jean responded. She sounded both mystified and terrified.  
  
Just then, the jet stopped. Just plain and simply stopped. Yet it had not crashed into the pine forest that was now only a few meters below us. Everyone who was buckled in fell against his or her restraints. I caught myself just in time to prevent from slamming into the back of the seat in front of me.  
  
The sound of the rushing wind had gone and had been replaced by the sounds of the flickering lights, the heavy breathing from the X-men and the kids and a strange, yet familiar, magnetic humming in the background. I peered out through the cockpit window and saw two people whom I never expected that I would be happy to see.  
  
Magneto and Mystique (in all her blue skinned, scaled glory,) were standing there calmly as if this kind of thing happened everyday. Magneto was in complete control of the jet, and somehow I trusted that he would rest it down as gently as he could. Even Logan looked surprised, and I think even a bit relieved to see them.  
  
"When will these people learn how to fly?" Magneto asked his female accomplice, and they chuckled to themselves. (I couldn't hear him say it, but I know that's what he said.) I just shook my head and smiled.  
  
"Let's never, ever do that again, ok?" I said a little shakily. Kurt gave me an analogizing, and agreeing, smile. 


	7. Mystique

AN/ In this chapter I muck around with the fact that in the comics, Mystique is Nightcrawler's mother. Even though they didn't really feature that too much in the movie, I still think that it is an important part of Kurt's past. I hope that they make it a bigger issue in X3, assuming they make an X3 of course. The main reason why Karen hesitates in this chapter is just in case they don't bring it up in the next movie.  
  
Kurt was sitting on the grass in a clearing away from the campfire. In the darkness of the night, it was extremely hard to see him. I sat down beside him, knowing that I still had a few minutes to talk to him before Rogue wandered over to thank him for saving her life. Kurt was watching the others around the campfire. I could see them too, but we couldn't hear what they were saying clearly. I noticed Mystique and Logan shooting daggers at each other with their eyes every now and then. I also saw Mystique glance once or twice in Kurt's direction, and I wondered if she was thinking about him. She probably was, I figured. She would definitely recognize him.  
  
"Kurt, do you remember anything much about your birth mother?" I asked him quietly. He looked at me.  
  
"Not very much," he confessed in a whisper. "But I've always assumed that she was a mutant. Do you know who she was, Karen?"  
  
I hesitated before answering. "Yes, Kurt, she was a mutant," I admitted. "But...I'm not one hundred percent sure who she was...is." This was only partly the truth for me. I was only about ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent sure, and I didn't want to hurt Nightcrawler if that one very small percent that doubted it was correct.  
  
"She's still alive?" Kurt asked, his golden eyes wide.  
  
I took a deep breath. "Yes, she's still alive," I said.  
  
Kurt flipped his tail excitedly in the grass. "Who is she? What's her name?" He asked me. He really wanted to know.  
  
I shook my head regrettably. "I'm sorry, Kurt," I said truthfully. "I can't tell you. I really wish that I could, but I'm not allowed."  
  
"Oh," Kurt said. He sounded disappointed, and who could blame him? He turned away from me and continued to watch the other mutants around the campfire. I felt bad that Kurt didn't know about his mom. "Everyone deserves the right to at least know who his or her mother is," I thought to myself. I decided to give Kurt a small hint about her, to kind of push him in the right direction at least, that I was allowed to do.  
  
"You and Mystique seem to have a lot in common physically," I said casually after a pause that was long enough to signify a change in conversation for him, but not really for me. Not that he would know that, of course. "You have the same colour skin, same colour eyes..."  
  
"What are you saying?" Kurt asked, almost like 'What are you telling me, that SHE'S my mother?'  
  
"I'm not saying anything, Kurt. I just couldn't help but notice the physical similarities, that's all," I said in my defense.  
  
"Mmmm," Nightcrawler said, thinking. He was very silent for a few seconds, and then asked, "Do you know that her power is?"  
  
"Yes, she's a shape shifter, a metamorph," I replied. "She can imitate anybody, even their voice."  
  
"This is how she truly looks in her natural form?" Nightcrawler asked, gazing at the blue-scaled woman standing there in the distance.  
  
"Yes," I said. "She's not at all ashamed of the way she looks. Even though she can take the form of anybody, and stay that way all the time if she wanted to, she doesn't." That was one of the few things that I admired about Mystique, she didn't take any crap from anybody about the way she looked naturally. If people did tease her about it, she would put her martial arts to work, (another thing I admired about her) and kick their butt big time.  
  
"Why doesn't she stay transformed all the time?" Kurt asked.  
  
I smiled slightly at him and replied, "You should ask her that yourself."  
  
Just then, Rogue walked up to Kurt. She didn't notice that we had been talking. She squatted down beside Nightcrawler. I watched her expectantly, knowing very well what she was going to say.  
  
"Thank you," she said to Kurt after a slight pause. I smiled. It felt good that these two had some sort of a small connection.  
  
"Bitte schon," Nightcrawler replied in German. They both turned to look at the group in the distance.  
  
"Can you hear what they're saying?" Rogue asked.  
  
Kurt smiled at her. "I could take a closer look." I grinned and gently grabbed his arm as we teleported up into the trees. I then hung onto Kurt's back as we swung silently, monkey-like over to the tree directly over the X- Men and Brotherhood's heads. I sat on a branch while Kurt hung upside-down by his tail, which was wrapped securely around another thick branch. I couldn't help but grin again. Kurt looked so natural in this very unusual, acrobatic pose. We both listened quietly to the conversation below. 


	8. The Camp

I was only half listening to the discussion that was going on below us, as I already knew what they were saying and were going to say anyways. Kurt however was listening intently. The conversation was pretty serious, and full of plot points in the bigger story. Magneto and Mystique were on one side of the campfire; Storm, Logan and Jean were on the other. Magneto looked for all the world like he was sitting on a throne. There was a bit of tension in the air, as the two enemy groups shared an uneasy and temporary truce.  
  
Magneto was explaining to Storm, Jean and Logan all about Stryker and why he needed the professor to operate his own version of Crebro. Erik also explained how Stryker had learned how to build Crebro. Magneto had told him while under the influence of Stryker's "powerful methods of persuasion." I bit my lip. Kurt would be able to put two and two together from this and figure out why he had attacked the president.  
  
"In a way, this is good," I thought. "I should let Kurt figure it out on his own instead of having me explain everything to him."  
  
Then Magneto brought Wolverine's past into the conversation and how Stryker was the one who made him into what he is today. He also explained that Mystique had found plans for Stryker's secret base, but they needed the X- Men to help them figure out where the base is.  
  
"The professor already tried," Logan growled. I think he was still upset over finding out that Stryker was his 'creator.'  
  
"Once again, you think it's all about you," Magneto said, and he looked up directly above his head. The X-Men followed suit, and discovered Nightcrawler hanging there upside-down above them.  
  
"Oh. Hello," Kurt said and he offered them a little wave. No one returned it. He looked up at me and I gave him a small smile.  
  
"Down we go," I said. Kurt teleported to the ground and I just simply dropped out of the tree, landing safely and silently beside him.  
  
It was difficult to read the other mutant's faces. Jean walked up to Kurt and kneeled down in front of him as Kurt settled into a comfortable squatting position. I kneeled down beside him.  
  
"I didn't mean to snoop," Kurt said apologetically.  
  
"Just try and relax," Jean told him. Kurt nodded and Jean raised her hands to either side of Kurt's head. I placed a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder.  
  
Jean's eyes fluttered and closed. She gasped, either in shock or pain or something else entirely, I don't know. A good seven seconds passed as Jean received flashes from Kurt's experiences in Stryker's base. Suddenly Nightcrawler gasped, bearing his teeth and pulling his head away. Both him and Jean were breathing heavily.  
  
"I'm sorry," Jean said. I squeezed Kurt's shoulder.  
  
"It's okay," I whispered.  
  
"Stryker's at Alkali Lake," Jean told the others without looking at them.  
  
"That's where the professor sent me," Logan said. "There's nothing left."  
  
"There's nothing left on the surface, Logan," Jean explained. "The base is underground."  
  
She went on to explain all that she could biased on the information that she had gathered from Nightcrawler's mind. Magneto then interrogated Logan on the base's exact location. Then the time came when everyone had had enough and went their separate ways. Some went to set up their tents or to supervise those who were. Jean went to work on the X-Jet. Logan followed and watched her. Mystique stood alone, watching Wolverine at some distance. She seemed to be planning something nasty that had to do with him. Kurt and I hung back a bit.  
  
"Kurt, here's your chance to talk to Mystique," I said, nodding my head towards her.  
  
Kurt sighed. "All right," he said. We approached Mystique from behind and to her left. She didn't seem to notice our approach, or if she did, she didn't show it.  
  
"Excuse me," Kurt said politely. Mystique looked at him, registered that he was there, then turned her face back to Logan. "They say you can imitate anybody, even their voice," Kurt said to her.  
  
"Even their voice," Mystique responded in Nightcrawler's own voice. It was a dead-on match to it. I had to suppress a smile.  
  
"Then why not stay in disguise all the time, you know?" Kurt asked, stepping closer to the blue skinned woman. "Look like everyone else?" He nodded towards Logan.  
  
"Because we shouldn't have to," Mystique simply replied in her own unique voice. She brushed slightly past him as she walked away. Kurt gazed after her and swung his tail. This time, I couldn't hide my smile.  
  
"Come on, Kurt," I said. "Let's go set up our tent."  
  
"Ja," he responded, and we went to go do that task.  
  
While everyone was settling in, I noticed 'Jean' enter Logan's tent. A few minutes later, she emerged as Mystique. I just sighed and shook my head in disgust.  
  
Kurt lay down inside our tent. I entered it and sat down beside him. Suddenly I felt very tired.  
  
"Whew. What a day!" I said. Nightcrawler nodded in agreement.  
  
"Ja, it has been a busy day," he whispered, fingering his rosary.  
  
"And tomorrow is going to be just as busy, if not more so," I told him. "So you'd better get some sleep."  
  
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Kurt asked me.  
  
"No, I don't sleep," I said, and I smiled. "Good night, Kurt."  
  
"Good night, Karen." And with that, I used my powers to help send Kurt into a deep and comfortable sleep while I stayed awake, thinking and meditating about the upcoming day's events all night long. 


	9. Control in Life

The next morning was bright and seemed to come all to quickly for me. Everyone was pleased to find that the jet had been repaired, thanks to Jean's hard work almost all night long. Breakfast was quick, and packing up the camp was almost as fast. It seemed like no time before everyone boarded the X-Jet again and we had taken off for northern Canada.  
  
I stood behind Kurt's seat, trying to remain focused on Nightcrawler, but my attention kept being drawn to the other passengers. The X-Men had just gotten changed into their black leather uniforms, and I heard Rogue and Bobby ask Logan about when they were going to be getting their own uniforms. Logan quickly put an end to that notion.  
  
Magneto and Mystique's laughter at the back of the jet caught my attention. I turned to watch them, my guard up. Rogue turned to see them too. I knew all about the past she had with them, the events at Liberty Island and how they gave Rogue her white streak.  
  
"We love what you've done with your hair," Magneto said, his remark directed to Rogue. Even though I was expecting it, I still drew in a sharp, angry breath.  
  
"How DARE he?" I thought to myself. "It's not her fault her hair is like that!"  
  
Rogue looked at them angrily and took off one of her gloves. She began to move towards them when Bobby stopped her, realizing what she was going to try to do. He led her away from them and Mystique grinned. I frowned and sighed, clenching my teeth.  
  
John looked towards Magneto. "So, they say you're the bad guy," he said, sounding casual, yet interested.  
  
I turned away from the scene and tried to ignore the conversation between John and Magneto, but it was difficult. I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. I don't have those kinds of powers. I sighed again.  
  
Nightcrawler noticed my actions and gave me an "are you okay?" look. I gave him a reassuring smile.  
  
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. It's just that..." I looked back at the Brotherhood. Pyro had flames in his palm. "There are some things that you have no control over in life even though you know that if you did have control over them you would make them better, even if that may not be the case." I turned back to Nightcrawler. He was nodding. "I'm sorry," I said. "That must have sounded very confusing to you." But Kurt shook his head. He understood what I was trying to say, but he knew better then to say anything to me aloud.  
  
I sat down in the aisle of the jet, letting people just walk right through me without even noticing I was there. I hugged my knees to my chest and began to chew on my lower lip. Even though I had spent all last night thinking about today I was still worried. I was not looking forward to Alkali Lake, not at all.  
  
I was surprised at just how quickly we arrived at that dreadful place. We landed a few miles away from the base, although just how far away from it we were exactly I'm not sure. The X-Men quickly put together a hologram model of the dam biased on Logan's recant visit and the information that Mystique had stolen.  
  
"All right, this is a topographic map of the dam," Storm explained. "This is the spillway." Suddenly, the image changed. "See these density changes in the terrain? They're tyre tracks." All eyes were focused on the hologram.  
  
"That's the entrance," Logan said, half from observation, half from memory.  
  
"Mm-hmm," Storm confirmed. The image changed again. "And this shows the depth of the ice covering the ground. And this is recent water activity." Suddenly a blue wave spread through the hologram. I gritted my teeth. It was a lot of water.  
  
"If we go in, Stryker could flood the spillway," Jean said. This presented the mutants with a big problem: How to get into the base?  
  
"Can you teleport inside?" Storm asked Kurt.  
  
"No," he said. "I have to be able to see where I'm going, otherwise I could end up inside a wall." I cringed slightly inside. Now THERE'S a happy thought and mental image.  
  
"I'll go," Logan stated, his tone saying that his mind was made up. "I've a hunch he'll want me alive."  
  
"Wolverine," Magneto said, eminently commanding everyone's attention. He strolled through the hologram. "Whoever goes into the dam will need to be able to operate the spillway mechanism. What do you intend to do?" He stopped in front of Logan. "Scratch it with your claws?" This was said in almost a mocking tone.  
  
"I'll take my chances," Wolverine said, stepping up to the challenge.  
  
"But I won't." Magneto turned to the back of the plane. Everyone followed his gaze to the blue-skinned shape shifter standing there. I had to admit, Erik had a point. Mystique was the best one for the job. She knew how to work computers, beat people up who got in her way, and she could become anybody. And so we sent in Mystique.  
  
The wait onboard the jet for her call was agonizing. Logan began to pace up and down the aisle like a caged animal. No one bothered to stop him, and no one even though of getting in his way, including myself. The tip of Nightcrawler's tail was twitching back and forth like a nervous cat's. After a few minutes even I was tempted to get up and start pacing myself, but then we heard a crackle over the intercom. Logan rushed over to where Storm sat at the cockpit. Magneto lingered behind him.  
  
Mystique only said two words: "I'm in."  
  
"She's good," Logan commented with a long exhale.  
  
"You have no idea," Magneto replied. This made me smile involuntarily.  
  
"Let's go," Jean said. The X-Men and Magneto made their final preparations and headed for the exit ramp.  
  
"What about us?" John asked. The teens looked ready to go too. It was obvious they wanted to help.  
  
"You stay here," Storm commanded.  
  
"But..." Rogue began.  
  
"No," Logan said, putting an end to all protests.  
  
"If something...happens to us," Storm continued. "Activate the escape-and- evade sequence that's programmed into the autopilot. The jet will fly you home." Neither Bobby, Rogue or Pyro looked pleased at this answer, but there was nothing they could do about it. The rest of us went down the ramp and marched off through the snow, following Mystique's footprints to the base.  
  
AN/ Some of the stuff in this chapter is from the X2 novelisation. I'm sorry about the delay in the uploading of this chapter. There isn't that many chapters left! Please don't forget to review. It would make a great birthday present for me! (My birthday is on the 24th of April.) 


	10. Teleporting

AN/ This chapter involves some scenes that were deleted from the movie due to time. I've included them in this to help flesh out the chapter more. I want to say a huge thank you to my reviewers. You guys are the best! I'm sorry that I couldn't get this chapter up sooner, but you've motivated me to write it and others much faster them I normally would have. I hope you enjoy it and the rest of the story!  
  
The walk to the entrance of the base didn't take as long as I thought it would. Nobody said anything, not even during the brief wait for Mystique to open the spillway doors. As soon as they did open, Storm's eyes clouded over. Thunder and lightening crashed and a very strong wind began to howl through the tunnel. Magneto used his magnetic influences to disable all the cameras and radios in the area. I must say, the expressions on some of the soldier's faces were absolutely priceless; mixtures of fear, surprise and a bit of confusion. Others were stupidly brave and tried to attack the mutants head-on. The combined efforts of everyone ensured that none of Stryker's men we came across remained conscious for much longer.  
  
Logan tracked Mystique's scent to the control room. Jean quickly took care of the men trying to pry the damaged door open, and Magneto opened the door. (Well, if you call ripping a huge chunk out of the middle of the door opening it.) Beyond the master of magnetism I saw Mystique standing there facing us expectantly.  
  
Erik was the first one inside the room. "Have you found it?" he asked Mystique with some urgency.  
  
She turned to the computers behind her. "A large potion of energy from the dam has been diverted to this chamber," she said. A model of the base was on a screen. A large, round room was highlighted.  
  
"Cerebro," Storm said.  
  
"There it is," Magneto breathed in agreement.  
  
"Can you shut it down from here?" Ororo asked.  
  
"No," Mystique answered simply and almost venomsly.  
  
"Come, there's still time," Magneto told his blue sidekick.  
  
"Not without us," Jean stated. Magneto and Mystique traded looks and there was a brief, but tense pause.  
  
"Oh my God," Storm said, noticing the captured students from the school on a display monitor. "The children. Kurt, will you come with me?" she asked, meaning to go save them. I nodded, knowing that he would go.  
  
"Yes," Kurt agreed, not noticing my nod.  
  
"Where are they?" Storm asked Mystique.  
  
"They're being held in a containment cell one level down," she informed her.  
  
"All right," Storm said. "We'll get the children and meet you at Cerebro."  
  
"Okay," Jean replied. "I'll try to find Scott and the professor."  
  
"Will you be all right without us?" Storm asked her friend, glancing at the Brotherhood.  
  
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Jean assured her.  
  
Storm paused and looked towards the doorway, realizing that something was amiss. "Where's Logan?"  
  
We all looked back to where he had been standing. I bit my lip. I hadn't even noticed he'd gone until that moment. His earpiece lay to one side. There was no way of contacting him now. "He's gone," Jean sighed.  
  
"Off to do some hunting," I said. "To find his past and fight a battle of his own, realizing what he could have become." Kurt glanced at me. His eyes were troubled, and I didn't blame him. He didn't want to be here anymore then I did.  
  
"We'll have to go on without him," Jean said sadly. Storm nodded in agreement. We didn't waste anymore time. Jean, Magneto and Mystique went off in one direction, Storm, Nightcrawler and I went in another direction.  
  
We ran down a flight of stairs. Kurt teleported ahead to check for danger. Finding none, he signaled us forward. We moved down a long hallway and came to a corner. There was a shorter hallway with a door at the end of it. The door had a dirty, rectangular window with rounded corners. Kurt glanced at me. I nodded. "This is it," I said.  
  
Nightcrawler Bamfed through the door just as it opened. Storm and I caught up with Kurt a few meters away. He was almost invisible, save for his bright, golden eyes in the half-light.  
  
Suddenly, a faint female voice called out from the right. "Help us, anybody!" It was the children! We rushed over to what almost looked like an elevated manhole cover with metal bars and glass covering it. Storm peered down one part that wasn't glass-covered.  
  
"Jubliee?" she called.  
  
"Storm!" one of the kids shouted.  
  
"Help us out!" another cried. They all were relieved to see their teacher and protector there to save them.  
  
"Ok. We're coming," Storm reassured the young mutants below. She looked to Nightcrawler, who knew what to do. He disappeared from my side in a puff of indigo smoke. I heard him land in the kid's cell and the children yelp in surprise.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you" Kurt said gently. I smiled slightly, reminded of my little speech when Kurt and I first met. "My name is Kurt Wagner. Come here. I'll get you out."  
  
I looked down the hole and saw one brave girl approach Kurt. He smiled at her and beckoned her into a bear hug. She smiled back weakly and complied. As soon as he had a good grasp on her, Kurt teleported them out. When they heard the girl's excited gasp from the surface, the other children became more willing to approach Kurt when he went back for the rest of them. One by one, Kurt teleported all of the children out of the cell. Storm made sure that they were all right and smiled proudly at Kurt. I was also very proud of him, as I knew how much energy it took him to teleport just one person, let alone six.  
  
Artie, the young boy with a blue forked tongue, was the last one out. He looked pale and queasy. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said. He hunched over and threw up, causing some of the other kids to jump away in disgust. Storm comforted Artie, and Kurt almost looked embarrassed. I offered him a smile.  
  
"Don't worry about him, Kurt. He's fine. You should be very proud of yourself," I told him. He smiled back at me.  
  
Storm was also about to congratulate Kurt when suddenly there was a loud explosion. The entire base and dam shook from the blast. I could feel the energy from the sheer, raw power that had caused it. This is what happens when you mix Cyclops' optic blasts with Jean Gray's super telekinetic powers.  
  
"What was that?" one of the kids cried.  
  
"I don't know," Storm confessed.  
  
"Scott and Jean," I said. "Come on! We don't have much time. That blast has done some serious damage to the dam."  
  
"Let's get out of here," Kurt urged.  
  
"Where are we going?" one of the young mutants asked.  
  
"We have to meet Jean and the others at Cerebro," Storm explained. "Come. Let's go." The nine of us ran back down the way we came and headed towards Cerebro. I frowned as I ran. It wouldn't be long now until the full potential of what Professor Xavier could do if he just concentrated hard enough would be realized. 


	11. Pain

One of the main things I was dreading about our visit to Alkali Lake was the Cerebro attacks. Suddenly and without warning, there was a terrible, high-pitched humming tone. It sent the feeling of piercing knives, burning fire, broken glass, beestings, and being skinned alive into the mind of every mutant on Earth. Kurt, the children, and Storm all dropped to their knees or just fell directly to the floor in unspeakable agony. I gritted my teeth and winced in sympathy. I lowered myself to the floor beside Kurt. He grabbed my hands in his and wrapped his tail around my leg. He squeezed them so hard that they hurt, but I didn't say anything to him to analogize that.  
  
"Kurt," I said. "Kurt, It's all right. It's gonna be ok. I'm here for you." I hoped that my words were able to reach him through the pain that was killing him. A tear streamed down one cheek, on both Nightcrawler and myself. It was killing me as well to see him and all the others in such horrible torture. I could do nothing for Kurt except just be there for him and wait for it to stop. For the second time, I found myself praying for Magneto to hurry up and save us.  
  
At long last, Cerebro's death tone stopped. The mutant's torture ceased. I let out a huge breath and a relieved sigh, raising my face to the ceiling. I was extremely thankful that hurdle was passed.  
  
"Are you okay?" I asked Kurt. He nodded to me, and shakily got to his feet, unwrapping his tail from my leg. I helped him to steady himself. Storm and the children also gradually rose to their feet. Storm looked frazzled, to say the very least. She made sure that all the kids were okay before moving to Kurt.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked. He looked her in the eyes.  
  
"Yes. Are you?"  
  
Storm sighed and nodded. "I'll be all right." She turned back to the younger mutants. "Everyone fit to walk?" she asked them. They all nodded. "Then let's go." Storm and Kurt led the way down the hall towards Cerebro. The children and I followed closely behind.  
  
No one said much for a long while, save for some frightened whimpers from the children. We rounded a corner and went down what at first seemed to be a dead-end, but Storm and I knew better. There was a round door at the end of the passage, and beyond that door was Stryker's dark Cerebro. We passed and stepped over a large amount of debris to get to the door. I knew that under that debris were bodies; soldiers who were casualties because they couldn't get rid of their grenades fast enough after Magneto pulled the pins. I frowned and tried not to think about that. I had bigger fish to fry.  
  
"What's this?" Kurt gasped.  
  
"Cerebro," Storm explained. There was a faint buzzing noise coming from it. I took a mental step backwards away from it. I'll admit, that simple round, metal door was very opposing.  
  
"Storm," a male voice called from behind us. We all turned, and there was Cyclops and Jean. He was helping her walk, as it was obvious that she had hurt her leg. They hobbled pass the children and up to Storm.  
  
"Jean, are you okay?" she asked, concerned and also noticing her friend's bad limp.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jean breathed. Storm turned back to Cerebro.  
  
"What's happening?" Storm sounded understandably frightened.  
  
"The professor's still in there," Jean stated, using her newly developed heightened awareness. "With another mutant. He's trapped in some kind of...illusion." Storm and Scott looked at her. "Oh my God," Jean said, her eyes widening as she realized something. "Magneto's reversed Cerebro. It's not targeting mutants anymore."  
  
"Who is it targeting?" Storm inquired.  
  
"Everyone else," Jean said. I gulped and began to suck on my teeth, feeling tense. Everyone else there felt it too.  
  
"Everybody stand back," Cyclops ordered, taking Jean's arm off his shoulders and preparing to blast the door open.  
  
"Scott no," Jean objected. "His mind is connected to Cerebro. Opening the door could kill him and everyone his mind is linked to." This presented yet another problem for the X-Men: how to get safely inside Cerebro?  
  
"Wait," Storm said. She faced Nightcrawler. "Kurt, I need you to take me inside."  
  
"Storm, who is this guy? Who are you?" Scott demanded. I had to suppress a small involuntary smile. Kurt and Cyclops hadn't met yet, and meeting someone who looked like Kurt did and whom Storm and Jean already knew and trusted must have been one of the last things on Scott's mind of 'things to do' at the moment. He seemed like the type of person who doesn't like to be kept out of the loop.  
  
"My name is Kurt Wagner," Nightcrawler introduced himself, going into his usual spiel. "But in the Munich Circus..." Storm put a hand to his lips, cutting the introduction short.  
  
"He's a teleporter," she explained quickly to Scott. Storm looked into Kurt's eyes, asking, pleading for him to help her enter Cerebro.  
  
"I told you," he said quietly. "If I can't see where I'm going..." Storm knew what could happen to them, but she also knew that there was no other choice, as I did.  
  
"I have faith in you," she told him, going back to their conversation on the X-Jet the previous day.  
  
"So do I," I said, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder.  
  
"Don't believe anything you see in there," Jean warned us.  
  
Kurt looked at the door and gathered his courage. "Our Father, who art in heaven," he whispered, gathering Ororo in a tight embrace. I too grabbed onto Kurt, preparing myself for the teleportation. "Hallowed be thy name," Kurt continued. Storm shut her eyes tight. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth..."  
  
BAMF! 


	12. Peaches and Cream Sweet as Can Be

"...as it is in Heaven!"  
  
Cerebro was huge, but it had a dirty, ugly, abused look to it. Unlike Kurt and Storm, I could see Jason and Professor X on the platform in front of us. I could also see a faint, ghostly outline of the little girl 143 was projecting into my companions' heads.  
  
She looked just like I thought she would, as described to me by one of the masters. "All peaches and cream, her hair a glorious gold blond, pretty as a picture, sweet as can be, a dream made flesh." Her eyes though, were Jason's eyes. One was a brilliant sky blue, the other a handsome hazel brown. Those eyes sent shivers up and down my spine and made me cringe. They were by far some of the creepiest eyes I'd ever seen.  
  
Storm and Kurt looked around and focused on the image of the girl. Little Girl 143 stared at them innocently. "Hello," she said. "What are you looking for?" Sweet as can be. It made me sick.  
  
"Professor?" Strom called out, her voice echoing slightly. "Can you hear me? You've got to shut off Cerebro NOW!" There was a hint of urgent order in her voice. I closed my eyes, and I could almost hear the screaming of the billions of innocent people.  
  
"Who are you talking to?" Little Girl 143 asked. Her tone almost sounded like "There's no one else here, duh!"  
  
Kurt took a step forward towards the girl. "No, don't move," Storm ordered as she stopped him.  
  
"Stay here," I whispered to Kurt.  
  
"But she is just a little girl," he said.  
  
"No, she's not," Storm said, glaring at her.  
  
"Didn't Jean tell you not to believe anything you saw in here?" I reminded Kurt. He nodded and stayed put.  
  
Little Girl 143 smiled. "I've got my eyes on you!" she said. Oh no. Not the eyes. I tried to look away from them, but I couldn't. It was almost like they had me trapped. I didn't like that one bit. It was only when I blinked that I was able to look away.  
  
Storm thought for a minute, and then turned to Nightcrawler. "Kurt, it's about to get very cold in here," she warned him. I grinned. Blizzard time!  
  
"I'm not going anywhere," Kurt promised her.  
  
"Me neither," I promised Kurt, and I braced myself for the mother of all indoor blizzards.  
  
Storm's eyes went white, and the cold wind started to blow, faster and faster, colder and colder. She was using Cerebro's curved surface to her advantage for her wind to bounce off of and form a spinning vortex. Nightcrawler started shivering violently. I was less affected by the freezing wind. Frost was forming on 143's body and chair, as well on Professor X's.  
  
"What are you doing?" Little Girl 143 asked worriedly. Things were not at all going according to plan for Jason. To tell you the truth, I didn't really feel sorry for him at all.  
  
Kurt fell to his knees. I kneeled down beside him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders trying to shield him a bit from the Weather Goddess' blizzard. He was shivering uncontrollably, and unfortunately there wasn't much I could do to prevent it.  
  
"Stop it!" Little Girl 143 shouted at Storm, but she would not stop. Jason looked absolutely frozen. He was shivering too, and I thought I could see some of his sickly golden brain fluids freeze over.  
  
"Jason..." Professor X said as he finally realized what was happening.  
  
"He's gonna be so angry at me," Little Girl 143 cried. She screamed and vanished as Jason finally lost control and dropped his illusions. Charles took off his helmet, shutting down Cerebro and Storm silenced her blizzard. I breathed a sigh of relief as I helped Kurt to his feet.  
  
"Are you okay?" I asked him. He nodded slightly, signifying he was. Suddenly, everything started to rumble. Cerebro began to crack and pieces began to fall from the walls and ceiling. Professor X turned around and gave Jason a most sorrowful look. Jason just stared back at him, his face blank.  
  
A huge chunk of Cerebro's ceiling broke off and fell right towards Storm. Thinking quickly, Kurt wrapped his tail around my waist and grabbed Strom in a bear hug. He bamfed us out of there one second before the chunk of rubble slammed into the walkway where we had stood. Another second later, Kurt did the same for the Professor. He was about to go back for Jason, but I stopped him.  
  
"Kurt, there's no time. We've got to get out of here now!" I said urgently. He sighed and obeyed me. He helped Strom support Charles and we all high- tailed it out of there as fast as we could go.  
  
..................  
  
AN/ The master's description of 143's girl is taken directly from the novelisation by Chris Claremont. As you may guess, Mr. Claremont if the master I'm referring to. I love that description. I had read the novel before I saw X2 for the first time in theatres, and when that little girl first appeared on screen all I could think of was "Peaches and cream, peaches and cream. She really does look like peaches and cream. Except for those eyes." Those eyes really do freak me out!

Oh, and Krisian Rose, I have considered doing someone from Van Helsing. Carl would be a great idea! I just need to see the movie again to check how easy it would be to do. And you know that I am going to do Skinner...eventually. He may be the third one I do. :)


	13. Psalm 23

AN/ I'm sorry about the delay. I had exams. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was one of the most difficult ones I've had to write for this fic. It is also one of the longest. 

P.S. You'll just have to wait and see whom the spirit will be guiding next. Some people already know who it will be. Here's a hint: he's one of my favorite characters according to the list on my bio. Now, on with the chapter!

It was crazy. We ran as though our lives depended on it. They did. I was terrified, fueled by adrenaline and the energy coming off of the frightened mutants around me.

"We have to get out through the spillway!" Storm shouted. We rounded a corner and came to the area where we had entered the base. In my mind's eye, I saw the wall of water coming down the spillway towards us. I prayed that Logan would reach us in time to stop us before we all drowned. I made a mental decision to warn Kurt so that he could stop us if Logan didn't come in time.

We made our way up some stairs and towards the large, round opening of the spillway. Suddenly, thick metal doors slammed together with a clang, blocking our path and stopping us in our tracks. I smiled a bit, feeling relieved as I looked over to the right. Logan was there, his claws stuck in the box that controlled the doors. I noticed that his uniform was covered in slash marks from his encounter from Lady Deathstrike. He coughed and gasped as smoke from the ruined controls blew up into his face.

"You don't wanna go that way. Trust me," he said.

Just then, the wall of water hit the doors, spraying through the crack in the middle. Those who had been standing close to the doors jumped back to avoid getting wet. Logan pulled his claws out of the controls in a shower of sparks as the rest of the doors to the spillway closed, providing a near- waterproof seal.

"Come on! There's another way out of here," Wolverine shouted. He ran back down the way he came. We all hurried after him.

A few quick minutes later we found the exit out of the base. It was the same exit that both Stryker and Logan had used earlier. Undoubtedly Magneto and Mystique had used it as well. Everyone ran out onto the snow. Kurt and Storm were still supporting the professor and Cyclops was helping Jean. I suddenly felt very sorry for the kids. They were still in their pajamas and were barefoot. I had to assure myself that they would be all right.

We ran over to the spot where Logan had told us the helicopter was parked. I saw Artie stumble and fall but Logan scooped him up and carried him. We reached the small ridge that over-looked the snowy helipad, only to discover that the helicopter was gone.

Nightcrawler shot me a quick look. It was the same expression everyone else had except for myself: "What are we going to do now?"

I just shrugged and wait for my cue from Logan.

"The helicopter was right here!" he shouted, frustrated. I smiled faintly and began my countdown.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six..."

Kurt shot me another quick look. This one said, "What are you doing?"

"Just trust me Kurt, okay?" I reassured him and continued counting down. "Five...four...three...two...one."

There was the humming of a jet engine, and suddenly the X-Jet zoomed up over the trees. Rogue was piloting it. I knew she had the controls in a terrified death grip. The jet crashed into the snow near-by. It was a less then prefect or graceful landing, but considering Rogue's flying experience, it wasn't too bad.

"Go. Take the professor. I'll be right there," I said to Kurt as some of the kids began to run towards the jet.

Kurt turned to Storm. "I will take him," he said as he scooped Charles up in a bear hug. Storm nodded and Kurt Bamfed away with the professor. Everyone ran as fast as they could to the jet. Everyone that is, except for Wolverine, and me. Wolverine still had Artie in his arms.

He looked towards the trees, to where I knew he could smell Stryker. He glanced back towards the jet, and then headed towards Stryker's scent. I was tempted to follow him, but I remembered that Nightcrawler still needed me. I turned and ran to the jet as fast as I could.

I came up the ramp just in time to see Scott leave Jean's side for the last time and go to the cockpit to help Storm with the take off. I sighed quietly and moved to Nightcrawler's side. The children sat down in their seats and Rogue and Bobby made sure they all fastened their seatbelts.

"Scott," I heard Xavier say. "We've got to get to Washington. I fear this has gone beyond Alkali Lake." Kurt and I shared a look. We both knew that was the truth.

"Ready to meet the president again?" I asked Kurt. A small smirk crossed his lips.

"Perhaps this time I'll make a better impression of myself," he whispered to me. I offered him a small smile.

Logan ran up the ramp with Artie still in his arms. He handed him off to Bobby and walked up to Jean. "You okay?" she asked.

"I am now," he replied. I noticed that Logan's dog tag was missing and sighed again.

"Well, at least he got what he came here for," I thought to myself. Rogue and Bobby moved to sit down and strap themselves in. Logan was up at the cockpit, and so was Kurt. I stood slightly behind him. Scott and Storm were having trouble with the jet.

"What's wrong?" Logan demanded.

"Vertical thrusters are off line," Cyclops said. There was a very high amount of tension in the air.

"So fix it!" Logan ordered.

"I'm trying!" Scott insisted.

Rogue spoke up. "Hey, has anyone seen John?" Everyone looked around. It was the first time they had noticed he wasn't there.

"Pyro? Where the hell is he?" Wolverine wondered aloud.

"He's with Magneto," Jean stated. No one questioned her. She sounded a bit sad and almost disappointed. I didn't blame her. However, Pyro was the least of our worries at the moment. Ororo and Cyclops still weren't having any luck with the jet.

"Come on!" Cyclops said in frustration. Suddenly, there was a low electrical buzz and all the lights in the jet went out.

"Oh, no. We've lost the power," Storm said. She sounded understandably frightened.

I received a sudden flash of an image in my mind. My heart plummeted. The dam had broken apart and the water was coming right for us. I looked back at Jean, who was still standing in the aisle where Scott had left her. She blinked her eyes and looked around as if she too was seeing something that none of the others could see. She whipped her head around and looked back down the ramp, and I knew that she knew too. Jean looked back at the cockpit where the X-Men were trying furiously to get the jet working again oblivious to the wall of water coming towards us. I saw a tear in her eye as she realized what she had to do.

"Goodbye, Jean," I said to her, my voice only just above a whisper. Kurt didn't hear me. He was too distracted trying to help Cyclops and Storm. Jean turned and limped down the ramp. I made no move to stop her. As much as I wanted to, as much as my heart ached to, I could do nothing. I sighed sadly. This was the other main reason I had dreaded coming to Alkali Lake.

After a few seconds, the professor frowned, sensing something was amiss. "Jean?"

That made everyone stop what they were doing. "Wait, where's Jean?' Logan asked.

"She's outside," Charles realized. In an instant, Scott was up out of his seat. He pushed past Logan and Kurt and ran to the ramp, desperate to reach her. He was too late. The ramp closed up just before her reached it. I bit my lip. My chest was feeling tense.

Just then, the jet seemed to come to life on its own. The lights came back on the switches began flipping by themselves. Jean had put the engines back on line. "No! We're not leaving! Lower the ramp," Cyclops shouted. "Storm! Lower it!"

"I can't," Storm cried. Indeed, she was no longer in control of the jet, Jean was. There was a deep rumbling sound as Alkali Lake came rushing towards us. The X-Jet shuddered as Jean fought to hole back the giant wave of freezing cold water.

"She's controlling the jet," Storm reported. Logan ran up to look over her shoulder out the cockpit window. Cyclops also ran up to the window. Kurt and I peeked out over their shoulders. There she was. One arm stretched out holding back the inland tsunami, the other reaching out towards the jet. I could feel intense waves of power coming from her body. I gasped at the sheer sight of it all.

"You, get her, now!" Logan commanded Kurt, who tried unsuccessfully to teleport away.

"She's not letting me,' Kurt said to him.

"Dammit!" Cyclops hissed through his teeth. Suddenly the professor spoke up.

"I know what I'm doing," he said in a calm voice. "This is the only way." Realizing that Jean was speaking through the telepathic, Cyclops rushed to Charles' side.

"Jean, listen to me," he pleaded. "Don't do this."

"Goodbye," Charles responded.

"No, no, no," Logan said, now that everyone realized what I knew all anong. There was nothing we could do. Jean's choice had been made and her mind was made up.

The X-Jet slowly began to rise up out of the snow. I could feel an even stronger amount of power radiate out from jean. It was similar to when she stopped the missile yesterday and Cyclops' blasts earlier on today. Jean's power reached a crescendo and I felt a sudden calm wash over me. I cannot explain the feeling, but I think the professor felt it too. It was almost like the feeling you get when you see the sun rise up over the horizon in the very early morning.

Jean closed her eyes and dropped her arms as well as her control on the jet and the water. I turned my head away and closed my eyes as Jean Grey disappeared.

There was a sudden silence, with only the hum of the jet's engines in the background. Everyone had his or her eyes turned to the place where Jean became engulfed in the icy water. "She's gone," Logan said, sounding as if half his soul was being torn away. I'm sure that's how he really felt. "She's gone."

Scott pushed Nightcrawler out of the way and grabbed Logan's shoulders. "DON'T! DON'T YOU SAY THAT! We gotta go back."

"She's gone," Logan said again. He didn't want to believe it anymore then Scott did.

"No!" Cyclops insisted. "No." But it wasn't any use. Scott wailed and half collapsed onto Logan, who was doing his best to hold him up. Tears came to everyone's eyes, and I noticed that Logan was starting to tremble a bit.

"She's gone. She's gone," he gasped. "She's gone." Kurt and Storm peered sadly down at the water below, looking for any sign of their friend. There was none. Kurt looked away.

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want," he recited. I recognized it as the Bible verse Psalm 23. I had sung it in a choir once, a long, long time ago. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

"Amen," I said. I swallowed hard and lay my hand on Kurt's. He was fingering his rosary. Nightcrawler raised his golden eyes to meet mine. Nothing more was said as a tearful Storm piloted the jet up and away into the sky.


	14. The Oval Office

"My fellow Americans," President McKenna began, addressing the people watching on billions of televisions not only across the country, but also around the world. "In this time of adversity we are being offered a moment. A moment to recognize a growing threat within our own population and take a unique role in the shape of human events." Suddenly everyone in the oval office froze. The TV monitors and teleprompt died. The wind blew hard outside. Thunder and lightening crashed.  
  
"Did we just lose the feed? Are we still live?" the President asked. No one answered him. The lights dimmed, filling the room with dark shadows. The president, who was the only one still able to move, turned to look outside. He seemed a bit confused but the sudden change of weather and events. When he turned back around he was surprised to find seven strangers standing there amongst the television crew. A flash of lightening reviled our faces. We were the X-Men. (And me of course.) Storm's opaque eyes showed that she was the one in charge of the thunderstorm.  
  
"Good morning, Mr President," Charles said politely.  
  
An almost invisible Nightcrawler sat balanced on the fireplace mantle. I stood beside the fireplace to his left. I admired how comfortable and almost casual Kurt looked up there. He gave the President a little wave. All this really seemed to do was frighten him as he recognized the mutant who had attacked him only a few days ago.  
  
The President rose to his feet, his fearful eyes on Kurt. I had to suppress a giggle. I wrapped my hand around Kurt's tail tip. He gave my hand a little squeeze as his bright chrome yellow eyes watched the President.  
  
"Please, don't be alarmed," the Professor said. "We're not going to harm anyone." Some of the X-Men took a step towards the President.  
  
"Who are you people?" he demanded.  
  
"We're mutants," the Professor replied. "My name is Charles Xavier. Please, sit down."  
  
"I'd rather stand," McKenna said.  
  
"Rogue," The Professor called the girl forward. She placed a blue folder on the President's desk. "These files were taken from the private offices of William Stryker," Charles explained. The President looked up from his examination of the files at Stryker's name. He eyed Xavier for a moment before returning his attention to the documents. His eyes narrowed as he flipped through them. I'm not one hundred percent sure what exactly those files said, but I do know that they changed the President's views on Stryker and mutants.  
  
"How did you get this?" he asked.  
  
"Well, let's just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls," the Professor said, referring to Kitty. Both Kurt and I grinned, although Kurt's smile was a bit briefer then mine. He raised his golden eyes towards the President again, who continued to scan the files. He sat back down in his chair, thinking all these new facts over.  
  
"I've never seen this information," he said.  
  
"I know," the Professor replied.  
  
"And you also know I don't respond well to threats."  
  
"Mr President, this is not a threat. This is an opportunity," Xavier explained. "There are forces in this world, both mutant and human alike who believe that a war is coming." There was a brief pause as those words sunk in. More lightening flashed. "You will see from those files that some have already tired to start one," the Professor continued. "And there have been casualties, losses on both sides."  
  
I could see Cyclops visibly gulp down his grief for Jean. Wolverine noticed it too.  
  
"Mr President," Charles wheeled closer to the desk. "What you were about to tell the world is true. This is a moment. A moment to repeat the mistakes of the past, or to work together for a better future. We're here to stay, Mr President. The next move is yours."  
  
"We'll be watching," Logan concluded. This was accented by more lightening from Strom. The lightening illuminated everyone's faces one last time. Kurt gave the President a small, knowing smile. Bobby and Rogue looked proud in their new, black leather X-Men uniforms. I realized that now, they could be officially called X-Men. They had passed their test, although their stories were only still just beginning. I also realized that Logan was probably going to stick around now and make the X-Men his new home. He was content with his past, now he just needed to work on his future.  
  
Just then, the lightening stopped and everything went black again. The X- Men and I disappeared from the office. When the lights came back up, no one except for the President was any the wiser about that little meeting that changed everything for the future between humans and mutants. All we could hope now was that the President would do the right thing with his new knowledge. 


	15. Good Byes and Epilouge

Kurt and I stood in a hallway in the mansion of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, right outside the door of Nightcrawler's new room. I knew that Wolverine and Cyclops had just exited the Professor's room, after having talked about Jean. I knew that Scott was going to look miserable, and I assumed that Logan did too, but he was a tiny bit better at hiding it. "It's so sad," Kurt whispered to me. "I feel like I will miss Jean a lot, even though I haven't known her for very long."  
  
I sighed. "Yes, it is sad. Jean was a brilliant person and such a kea member of the team. I wish we had gotten to know her better." I paused, and a strange feeling came over me. I tried to remember what was going to happen to Kurt next, but nothing really clear came to me. I could feel it ending. I realized that the time had come.  
  
"Kurt," I said, breaking the news to him. "I have to leave you now. The time has come for me to go." He looked even sadder by this news.  
  
"Why do you have to go?" he asked.  
  
"Because I can't help you anymore. That's why I came to you in the first place, to guide you because I knew what was going to happen. Now, I don't know what's going to happen to you any more, so I must go. This chapter of the story has ended."  
  
"Did you know that Jean was going to...?" Kurt couldn't finish his question, but I knew what he meant.  
  
"Yes, I did," I replied sadly. "And no, before you ask, there was nothing I could do to stop it. I really wanted to, though. Believe me, I did. But I honestly couldn't." Kurt was silent.  
  
"Danke Karen, for helping me," he whispered at last.  
  
"You're very welcome, Kurt," I said, offering him a small smile. "It's been my pleasure." Then to my surprise, he gave me a friendly hug. "Take care of yourself, you elf," I smiled back tears, and we pulled apart. "I'll never froget you. Good bye," I said as I turned to go.  
  
"And I will never froget you, either," Kurt promised me. "Auf Wiedersehen."  
  
"Oh, and one last thing, Nightcrawler," I paused and turned to face him again. I smiled. "I have faith that there is a very strong chance that we'll meet again some day. I don't know when exactly, but if I can, I'll definitely be back."  
  
Kurt grinned, showing his fang-like teeth. "I look forward to your return," he said. He gave a little bow and flicked his tail.  
  
"See ya." I smiled again, even wider this time, and with a blink of Nightcrawler's golden eyes, I vanished.  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
On my way home, I decided to take a short detour over Northern Alberta, Canada and the now greatly expanded Alkali Lake. I glided over the thick ocean of pine trees and what I could only call 'Wolverine Country.' I swooped down low over the ruined dam and the area where the water had burst free. I closed my eyes, and envisioned the spot where Jean had let go of the jet and the giant wall of water that had been bearing down on her. I could feel myself being directed to that exact spot over the lake. When I opened my eyes again, I was directly over the area where Jean had stood.  
  
I hovered there, scanning the cold water, searching for a sign that I sincerely hoped I would be able to see. Suddenly, there! I spotted it. Deep in the frigid lake was a long, faint, ghostly fire. The red and orange of the flames were melting in with the cold gray-blue of the lake. It looked almost like the wings of a phoenix, trapped in her complete opposite element, trying with all her strength and soul to escape. I smiled as my own soul became filled with hope and anticipation at the sight.  
  
"That phoenix isn't going to stay trapped down there in that lake forever," I thought as I drifted up and away into the clear Canadian sky, looking forward to the day when she would finally escape.  
  
.....................  
  
AN/ There are many people I would like to thank. Most of them don't realize that they've helped me, but without them, this fic would not have been possible. Chris Claremont for writing the novelisation, Bryan Singer for directing X2, Alan Coming for performing Nightcrawler so wonderfully, Stan Lee for creating the X-Men in the first place, and all of my reviewers for giving me support and encouragement. THANK YOU!  
  
Oh, and one last thing. I would like to dedicate this fic to my best friend Kyrie. Thanks Kizz for being such a good friend to me. And remember, (and this goes for everyone out there) you are special. You are wonderful and unique. Someone loves you with all their heart and soul. Never let anyone tell you different. 


	16. The Story Continues

AN/ This is a prologue of sorts for my next spirit fic. This is an attempt to tie the two stories together a tiny bit. As you all know by now, I own absolutely nothing except for the spirit. I don't even really own the masters. I bet you can guess whom the masters represent. Also guess where the spirit's id number is from. ;)  
  
"Number 426291?" A voice called. I looked up from the National Geographic magazine I was flipping through.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Master Fox will see you now," the assistant told me.  
  
"Thanks." I got up, pushed some stray strands of my long, red hair out of my face, and went to the master's office. I knocked on his door.  
  
"Come in," a muffled voice called. I opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind me. I smiled at the master. "Ah! Spirit 426291, is it?" he asked in a cheerful tone, looking at my records and files.  
  
"Yes, sir," I confirmed.  
  
"Karen, Calypso, Morph, Injara, Reepa, Nikita and Bastet?" I smiled and nodded as he read off all my chosen names.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Well, come, take a seat." The master gestured to a large beanbag chair. I flopped down in it. "I would like to congratulate you on the good job you did with Nightcrawler," Master Fox said, looking me in the eyes. "Considering you're still kind of new at this, you didn't do too badly. Master Marvel also sends his regards to you."  
  
I grinned. "Thank you, sir!"  
  
"Did you enjoy X2?" the master asked me.  
  
"Yes, I did sir," I replied. "However, I thought that the ending was a bit sad and I didn't really like that part where the mutants are being attacked by Cerebro."  
  
"Hmm, I see," Master Fox mumbled. He scanned my files for a moment and a smile creeped across his warm face. "Well, how would you like to go to a movie where only the bad guy dies at the end so it's a happy ending?" he asked.  
  
I smiled hopefully. "I would like that sir," I said.  
  
"And it looks as though there's definitely going to be a sequel," Master Fox continued.  
  
"That's good. Which movie is it?" I asked, feeling curious. "Who is going to be my next assignment?"  
  
"I'm afraid this movie and the character that goes with it does not belong in my section," the master said. He began to write a note on a page in my report. "I'm sending you over to Master Disney."  
  
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Of course Disney would have a happy ending," I thought to myself. Master Fox noticed my actions, although I tied to hide them. He didn't seem to mind though.  
  
"Don't worry, I think you're going to like this," he said with a playful smirk on his face. I got up and he handed me my papers.  
  
"Thank you, sir," I said, and I turned to go.  
  
I was half way out the door when Master Fox called, "Have fun in the Caribbean!" I gasped and froze in my tracks, my heart pounding as I realized what my next assignment would be. I whipped around and grinned excitedly at the master.  
  
"Thank you, sir! I will!"


End file.
